This Is Samsung’s Answer to Apple’s ‘iPhone SE’ — and It’s Actually Not That Bad

In yet another classic case of its “monkey see, monkey do” business tactics, Samsung is back at it again with an (already in development) answer to Apple’s forthcoming, 4-inch ‘iPhone SE’ — which is known only as the ‘Galaxy S7 mini’ at the moment. And, furthermore, according to a recent report, it actually won’t be inferior to its scorchingly powerful big brothers — the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge.

Unlike the South Korean telecom-giant’s previous attempts at creating a miniature version of its flagship handsets, the Galaxy S7 mini will reportedly feature at least some of the same internal components as the larger S7 and S7 Edge. That includes, among other things, either a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC (which has been dubbed the fastest chip currently available), or Samsung’s own, home-brewed Exynos 8890 octa-core chip.

The Exynos 8890 is Samsung latest iteration of octa-core mobile processing power — boasting a Quad-core 2.3 GHz ‘Mongoose’ coupled with a Quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex A53. However, even as exciting as that may seem, it’s highly doubtful that Samsung will include the Exynos 8890 in U.S. variants of the S7 mini, especially considering how the S7 and S7 Edge doesn’t even feature the powerful silicon stateside.

However, the latest Snapdragon 820 SoC from Qualcomm is more or less just as powerful, even though it boasts only Dual-core 2.15 GHz and Quad-core 1.6 GHz ‘Kyro’ cores.

According to various sources familiar with Samsung’s imminent plans, however, the S7 mini will feature only 3 GB of RAM — as opposed to the larger S7’s 4 GB. Still, it could possibly feature the same high-quality 12 MP Camera, however that still remains to be seen, even though the device is almost certain to feature “some kind” of 12 MP camera.

Additional specifications, including the 12 MP camera, are said to be a 4.6-inch display of 720p HD resolution, which would be somewhat disappointing considering the S7 and S7 Edge both boast Quad HD displays at 1,440 x 2,560 resolution on top of Super AMOLED display technology. In terms of thickness, the device is said to clock in at approximately 9.9 mm — rendering it a full 2 mm thicker than its big brothers.

Even still, these are actually rather exciting specifications for a Galaxy S mini device — especially considering how previous attempts by Samsung to dwarf its own flagships have been quite disappointing, to say the least, as they have often featured entry-level specifications coupled with design elements that render them just ever so similar to their high-end counterparts. (Galaxy S5 mini, anyone?)

Either way, Samsung has really ought to step up its game if it wants to seriously compete with Apple’s forthcoming iPhone SE. After all, the 4-inch device is widely expected to feature almost exactly the same internals as the company’s flagship iPhone 6s and 6s Plus handsets — including the Dual-core 1.85 GHz A9 chip, 2 GB of RAM, and possibly even a 12 MP camera. But, of course, we’ll find out all the bits and pieces details on Monday morning, won’t we?

Unfortunately, there’s no word on when exactly we’ll be seeing the Galaxy S7 mini hit the market.

Learn More: ‘iPhone SE’ Promotional Video Rumor Hints at the Inclusion of a 4K Camera

 What do you think of Samsung’s latest attempt to follow in Apple’s footsteps, once again?

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]